The dating couples are at the receiving end not only because of the mistreatment from the security force but because there are not sufficient public parks to spend time in the capital city.Pratikshya Basnet (name changed), 22, had to face harassment from a police personnel while she was spending time with her boyfriend at Basantapur in Kathmandu.
"I was at Basantapur Durbar Square with my boyfriend when a policeman came and scared us away. He threatened us about complaining to our parents" she said. "The policeman sent us to the opposite directions," she added.
Basnet, who is a Bachelor's degree student, further complained that the incident left a deeply troubled for some time. "After the event, I didn't want to go anywhere with my boyfriend. It bothered me for a few days," she said. She further expressed her qualms about the way the police officer spoke to her. "Had the officer asked us kindly, it wouldn't have bothered us but he treated us like we were criminals and acted very cruelly," she added.
Another couple from Balkumari in Lalitpur shared a similar story. Mamta Shrestha (name changed), 25, told Republica about her harrowing tale. "We were walking around the area near the Balkumari bridge when a police official came and said our behavior was inappropriate," she said.
She explained how they were walking around decently without offending any public walker.
"But he threatened to take us to the police station. I was very scared and we both went home," Shrestha shared her experience.
Shrestha added, "I didn't know what wrong we did. Although we believed we were innocent, looking someone in a police dress scares us anyway."
The stories don't end here. Shreejan Silpakar (name changed) of Basantpur area said, "While spending good quality time with my girlfriend here, a police official threatened us to expose the matter to our family members. I hadn't seen my girl for a couple of days, so we came to Basantapur for relaxation but it only got worse," he said.
He explained how his girlfriend was terrified to be seen with him afterwards.
"It not only made our evening a disaster but had an impact for a long time. My girlfriend didn't agree to meet me as she was afraid of being in public places," added Silpakar.
SP Pradhumna Karki, spokesperson of Metropolitan Police Range Office said that there isn't any law to offend couples staying in public places. "No police officer is allowed to act in such a way. Every couple can enjoy their time in public place relaxing, which is everyone's right," he said.
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